When Waking Up, Alone
by Isiodith
Summary: AU fic, basically the world is changed after Trinity said the fateful "Yes"...
1. The Lead Role

Disclaimer: Don't own the Matrix in anyway, and you know the rest.  
  
  
So, so you think you can tell   
Heaven from Hell,   
blue skies from pain.  
Can you tell a green field   
from a cold steel rail?  
A smile from a veil?  
Do you think you can tell?  
  
Did they get you to trade   
your heroes for ghosts?   
Hot ashes for trees?  
Hot air for a cool breeze?   
Cold comfort for change?  
Did you exchange   
a walk on part in the war  
for a lead-role in a cage?  
--Pink Floyd  
  
  
There was nobody you could find nowadays who hadn't heard of Reagan. He was the biggest movie star in the recent years, and he owned everything you can dream of: money, fame, countless admirers...  
  
How his stardom began somewhat remained to be a mystery. He was not the type you would define as sexy, nor was he a specially talented actor. Nonetheless, he became fastest rising star ever since his debut.   
  
The story was rather a typical Hollywood dream: a college drop out, worked in a bar for quite a few years, until he left for drama school training, and finally moved into a Beverly Hill mansion after a few big box-office hits.  
  
***  
  
A black Limo smoothly drove along the street.   
  
Reagan, in his trademark black jacket, sat at the back of the car. His eye expression was indeterminable behind the shades.   
  
Another long day working on his new action movie. A much more physically demanding movie than any other he had before, he felt as if his body was feeling apart. Yet, the choreographer thought he was a natural, judging from the fact he had never had any experience before.  
  
As the car passed by McNasty, the bar Reagan used to work and was still a frequent customer of, he called the chauffeur to stop. Stepping outside, he told the chauffeur to go home first, "I will stay here for a while, and call ya when I'm done."  
  
He stopped in front it for a moment, and pushed the door open.  
  
None of the people he had worked with was here anymore. In fact, the owner had been changed also soon after Reagan left this place. The previous one was arrested for doing drug business. According to the rumor, the guy's failure was because one of his men left, a man who was able to hack into the LAPD's mainframe to steal the police's plans.   
  
It was still early evening, not many people would be around at this hour. Few youngsters sat at the dark corner, obsessed with their own little world.  
  
No one came for him, which was good and bad. He was getting tired of too enthusiastic fans, but now he was a little disappointed. It wasn't right not being the centre of attention. Only the bartender Jeff saw him, nodded and took his order of a Godfather.  
  
He sat down at the bar and inhaled the familiar blend of sweat, perfume and weeds...  
  
A girl approached the counter. Tall and slender, with icy green eyes. The shiny black leather she wore made a strong contrast with her pale skin, which gave out a soft glow under the dim light. "She's beautiful!" Reagan thought to himself. Yet he swore she was no more than twenty years old, which really came down to the question of how the doorman let her in.   
  
She ordered a Tornado and waited indifferently, as if she had nothing to do with whatever was going on around her. Then her eyes focused on Reagan as he passed her the drink. She took the glass and said quietly, "Thank you, Cypher."  
  
Reagan felt his heart had skipped a beat, and the shaker in his hand dropped...  
  
A metallic click of hitting the counter.   
  
Jeff set his shaker down, and passed Reagan the drink, "Here you go, buddy!"  
  
Reagan gave out a startle. He blankly looked at the bartender for a second, then blinked. He wasn't the bartender anymore. The mysterious girl was gone. Or she was never there to begin with. 


	2. The Phantom of Past

Walking out of the bar, Reagan saw his car already await for him outside. Approacing it, a women passed by riding a motorcycle attracted his attention. Her slim figure clad in black leather looked extremely familiar.   
  
Without realizing, Reagan called out, "Trinity!"   
  
In the engine humming, the woman turned around, then disappeared into the traffic within seconds. Beautiful, but untamed, and lacking the coolness. She wasn't Trinity.   
  
Disappointed, Reagan got into the car. "Trinity." he repeated to himself, feeling the familiar syllables rolling on his tongue...  
  
Trinity, the princess on Neb. What she was capable of was amazing for her age. He wouldn't deny he was drawn to the legendary twenty-year-old veteran.   
  
She was polite but cold. Smart but cold. Beautiful but cold.  
  
Diode said to him there was much more to her than stoicism. He swore Diode had a soft spot for Trinity, but who wouldn't? "The hottest software" wasn't a title for nothing....  
  
Reagan tried to remember where he knew the name Trinity from. The woman it belonged to didn't fit into any part of his life. Yet, the memories involved her seemed inexplicably real.   
  
A lost memory? Or a dream blurred into reality...  
  
"Have you ever had a dream, that you were so sure was real. What if you were unable to wake from that dream. How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"  
  
***  
  
The two pills glowed under the light.  
  
Sitting opposite to him was the legendary Morpheus. On his spread-out hands were the pills. Red and blue with a phantasmal shine. Everything happened tonight seemed more strange for all they came down to choosing between the two pills.   
  
Cypher saw his own reflection in Morpheus' sunglasses, which didn't seem suitable for this time of the day. His face was paler than usual, out of exhaustion, nervousness and, unwilling to admit, fright. He bet Morpheus could see through him, which made him extremely uneasy.   
  
He imagined there was a contemptuous look behind the shades, though he couldn't really tell. All he could see was the pills reflected on the shiny surface, disproportionally magnified.   
  
He decided to show this man that he indeed had some guts, so he reached for the red pill. In the mid air, his hand slowed down for a moment of hesitation.  
  
"After this, there is no going back." Cypher remembered Morpheus final explanation. He gave a second thought, then decided to leave everything behind. There wasn't really any where he could go from hacking the police's plan for a drug dealer.   
  
He was tired of being unnoticed, tired of being at the bottom. He wanted to be important, have an influence. For that reason, he needed a fresh start, a different life.  
  
Touching the pill, its smooth surface felt cool on his finger tips. Carefully, he picked it up, and it almost slipped from his fingers, which were lubricated by sweat.   
  
He swallowed it right down his throat without thinking, then felt the pill stuck there uncomfortably. It had been too dry. Grabbing the glass, he chugged the water at once, and set the glass right in front of Morpheus, as if he had taken this man's challenge.  
  
***  
  
He ran.  
  
running blindly and furiously.  
  
He didn't know what he was running from. No one could get away from what was already known.  
  
He didn't know where he was running to. There weren't many places to hide in the tiny hovercraft, and beyond the metal wall was exactly the nightmare he was trying to escape.   
  
His vision hazed, not sure it was because he hadn't use his eyes for almost his entire life, or subconsciously, he refused to see what was real.  
  
Not seeing where he was going, he tripped over a bundle of wires, and fell... 


End file.
